Ford Recalls Nearly 400,000 Cars for Bad Door Latches

Bob Sorokanich

Apr 24, 2015

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Ford just announced a recall affecting 389,585 2012-14 Ford Fiestas and 2013-14 Ford Fusions and Lincoln MKZs, after three incidents caused by faulty or broken door latches, The Detroit News reports. It’s the fourth door-latch recall the automaker has enacted in the past year.

Ford says the affected vehicles “may experience a broken pawl spring tab, which typically results in a condition where the door will not latch. If a customer is then able to latch the door, there is potential the door may unlatch while driving, increasing the risk of injury.” The Detroit News reports that two minor injuries have been reported, caused by non-latching doors bouncing back after being slammed shut, along with one case where a door with a bad latch flew open and struck another car during a parking lot maneuver.

Dealers will replace all four door latches on vehicles affected by the recall. Ford “does not believe that a latched door experiencing this condition will inadvertently unlatch and that there are many overt warnings associated with a door that does not latch,” the company told the NHTSA. Over the past year, Ford has recalled more than 1.1 million Explorer, Escape, Taurus, Police Interceptor, and Lincoln MKS models for defective door latches over three separate recalls.